Carole Papon, a representative of the victims' aid association France Victimes 87, said the father could "neither read, nor write, nor count, doesn't realise the seriousness of the situation, and spent all his welfare money on alcohol".

The family "had nothing to eat. They only had Coca-Cola to drink," she said.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Bruno Robinet said the boys had been "left to their own devices".

"There was no fridge, the children slept on a mattress without covers and there were no toys... Their father fed them on cakes and Coke," he told news agency AFP.